What is the minimum software needed to remove backgrounds? I am looking for software that I can use to have backgrounds without shadows and the type of software people use with models where the model is seperated from the floor and the background is either white or black or whatever. I have always used the free software infranview but it does not have this capability. I am technically a dinosaur and I would love to avoid the $600 software as I think the technical part of that type of program would overwelm me more than the cost. I read magazines like Digital Photo Pro and read websites like photo.net but either get totally lost or don't get answers to my questions, whereas on this site people are more user friendly.

You could probably use Gimp. I'm not a Gimp user myself, but it is free and has a lot of great functionality.

The two basic tools that are going to serve you here are masking and the pen tool. Part of why I suggest Gimp is that I'm told it supports these functions well, but also because there are a number of tutorials that are fairly step-by-step once you know what you're looking for.

When it comes to hair, well perhaps a Gimp user can correct me if I'm wrong, but Photoshop just has much more powerful tools available. Built in to Photoshop you have the extract filter, which once you get used to it is quite powerful.

...oh, maybe you're in luck! I was just checking out the link for Vertus' Fluid Mask and it looks like you can use it as a standalone program. It will only work for tiff or png files as a standalone though. ~$150 and there is a free trial. Maybe that will work for you.